Izuku was impatient with his recovery, and Katsuki didn't blame him at all. He would go nuts if he were confined to a bed. Beyond the muscle atrophy he'd experienced, the villain's quirk had ravaged him. He couldn't walk for more than a few feet at a time, and his recovery regimen was exhausting.
It did give him a lot of time to catch up on his schoolwork. Katsuki hadn't let up on his hospital visits—staying by Izuku's bedside as soon as school let out until visiting hours ended each day. Most of the time he did his own homework and only helped him when he got stuck or had a question about the (shockingly elaborate) study guides that Katsuki and Momo had put together.
It was a good system. Izuku was on par with Katsuki's intelligence and hardly needed help playing catch up. But it was a lot of information to cram into his skull in a short amount of time, and he was still so goddamn restless.
It didn't help that Katsuki was currently the only person in Class A that was allowed to visit. He had family privileges, and he was completely immune to Izuku's petulant persuasion tactics. That meant he'd make Izuku sleep if he was tired or straight up leave if he was going overboard. The rest of the class didn't have that kind of discipline. Being completely honest, Katsuki was glad that the class wasn't allowed to visit, because then he'd have to explain why Deku's best friends weren't allowed to take part and he did not want to do that. He just wanted things to go back to normal. Unfortunately, that left him feeling isolated.
But there was good news on that front. When Katsuki had gone to Aizawa and asked if there was a way for Izuku could complete his rehab from Heights Alliance, he'd almost immediately agreed. The condition, obviously, was that Recovery Girl had to agree to oversee Izuku's treatment plan.
"I don't know, Bakugou," Recovery Girl replied when Katsuki had gone to her. "Of course it's possible, but there's a good chance that he'll push himself too hard if he's surrounded by classmates who are at full strength. You and I both know how he is."
"He'll push himself regardless. That's how he is," Katsuki argued. "He's going nuts. He feels useless and isolated in the hospital, and he's getting frustrated. It's a recipe for disaster, and you know it. If he's back in the dorm, he'll be surrounded with support and the entire class can help make sure he doesn't push himself. He can do his school work during the day, and do rehab exercises with Class A's help in the evenings."
Recovery Girl eyed him thoughtfully. "I'll discuss it with his doctors. You'll have an answer within 24 hours."
Katsuki sighed, tension leaving his shoulders. "Thank you."
"It's the first time you've asked me for something without using five expletives per sentence, kiddo. I'm assuming that means you'll take his recovery seriously and make sure he doesn't go overboard," she replied sternly.
"I will," he promised. Recovery Girl shooed him out, which was fine. He was late, anyways—and he still needed to grab dinner from the dorm before heading to the hospital. He felt bad eating
Sato's cooking in front of Izuku though. Deku wasn't approved for solids yet, but maybe he could clear a smoothie with actual flavor with the nerd's doctor.
"You been doing your homework, nerd?" he barked as he barged into the room. Izuku was propped up by pillows and elbows deep in their quirk theory textbook. His head snapped up and he looked at Katsuki with wide, slightly red eyes. "And have you been sleeping?"
"Do the homework or get sleep, Kacchan. Can't be both." Izuku replied, a little bleary. "They are never gonna let you out of the hospital if you don't take care of yourself, fucker,"
Katsuki snapped. "You know that."
"I'm trying to catch up!" he cried, frustrated.
Katsuki glared at him fiercely. "If you focus on your physical health now, it'll be easier to do the catch-up. It'll go faster because your body will be able to handle it. Do this shit the right way, nerd. You know I'm right."
Izuku pouted. It was not cute. It wasn't. "I just feel pathetic," he mumbled.
Katsuki took a deep, calming breath. Yelling in the hospital was bad form. "You nearly got fucking deleted by a villain, Deku. Two weeks isn't enough time to fully recover from two months of internally dissolving. What if it were me in the bed? What would you tell me?"
Izuku flushed and looked at Katsuki sheepishly. "Oh."
"Yeah, oh," Katsuki mocked him. "I get being restless, but you gotta be smart, dumbass. Take it easy in the beginning and work your way up to doing more every day."
"Fine." Izuku flopped back into his pillows.
"Take a nap while I check over your work," Katsuki instructed. "I'll wake you up when its time to
review."
"Don't you have your own homework?"
"Yeah, but I'm basically studying by checking your work," he shrugged. "Don't sweat it. I got some of it done during lunch, and I'll get to the rest after they kick me out."
Izuku seemed to know better than to argue with him (for once), and settled in to take his mandated nap while Katsuki picked up his binder of makeup work and began to flip through it.
Katsuki, Momo, and Aizawa had come up with a makeup plan for Izuku almost as soon as he'd woken up. It included a lesson plan, the notes and study guides that they had compiled, and a binder of assignments that he'd have to complete in order for Aizawa to deem him caught up enough to take the semester's final exams.
It meant that Izuku would likely be working to catch up for the duration of their two- spring vacation, and he wouldn't be entirely caught up for a while. He was months behind his classmates after he'd been doing so well and it frustrated him to degree he'd never experienced before. It made him angry.
Fuck Hiroki Takeda. Izuku wanted to Detroit Smash him in the face for stealing two whole months from him. For terrifying his friends and family, too. He kinda wanted to slap the villain's head off. But he wouldn't because he was a hero. Dammit.
Katsuki let Izuku sleep for two hours before waking him up to go over corrections. He could feel Deku's bubbling frustration, even as he tried to absorb what he was being taught with a positive attitude.
"Oh good, you're still here." Deku's doctor let himself into the room and addressed Katsuki. They were reviewing the math assignment that Izuku had done almost perfectly. There were a couple slip ups, but they were minor. Better safe than sorry, though. Both boys looked up at the intruder, blinking owlishly.
"Uh...yeah," Katsuki uttered intelligently.
"Hope you're not overworking yourself, Midoriya," the doctor warned, eying them suspiciously. "Or else I might rethink my decision to discharge you and allow you to complete your rehab in Recovery Girl's care."
Izuku's eyes widened. Damn, Recovery Girl worked fast. Katsuki was impressed. "What?" Izuku yelped, jolting forward.
"I understand that you've agreed to be his primary caregiver in the dorm, Bakugou? You're planning on managing his recovery and academic plans?" the doctor continued as though Izuku hadn't interrupted. "That had a fairly large bearing on my decision, so I'd like to confirm some details with you before I officially sign off on it."
Katsuki nodded, even as Izuku turned those wide eyes on him. "What?" Izuku demanded.
Katsuki ignored him. "Yeah, that's the plan. Our classmates will be helping, but I agreed to be the main contact. Aizawa will be monitoring his progress, too, so that'll be an extra set of responsible adult eyes on the nerd."
"That's good to know," the doctor agreed, both of them ignoring Izuku's incredulous sputtering. "If we do this, Recovery Girl will be taking over as the primary physician. You'll need to go to her for weekly checkups and report any problems to her as soon as possible. I've already sent her the care plan we've following, but I'd like to go over it with you. There are a lot of physical therapy exercises that he'll need to do daily, and a fairly strict diet plan. He'll also need to take medications, and there are signs of fatigue you'll need to watch for."
"Kacchan, you don't need to—"
Katsuki cut him off with a ferocious glare. "Do I ever—ever—do anything that I don't want to do?"
Izuku opened and closed his mouth a few times, looking like an odd green fish out of water. "N- no?"
"Then shut up and let me talk to your doctor, nerd."
"O-okay. Alright," Izuku complied, sitting back but not taking his huge, amazed eyes off of
Katsuki. He tried very hard not to flush under the scrutiny. "Hit me, doc."
The doctor (who was thoroughly amused by the two flustered boys) outlined Izuku's care thoroughly, handing Katsuki sheets of paper and explaining them in detail. Pointing out particulars of Izuku's injuries and weak spots on the boy's body and explaining how each exercise was done and how it helped. Katsuki's focus was laser-sharp, and he asked questions attentively—turning over every detail until he was sure he'd be able to take care of the nerd flawlessly.
"I think I feel comfortable releasing you into UA's care, Midoriya. You're lucky to have friends like Bakugou, here," the doctor smiled. But then his face darkened slightly, and he cut his eyes to Katsuki. "Not many people would take such good care of their friends' families in situations like yours."
Katsuki remembered then, that this was the doctor that had banned the 'Dekusquad' from the hospital. Katsuki shook his head ever so slightly. This was not the forum for that conversation. The doctor pursed his lips, but moved on, even as Izuku eyed them both suspiciously. "I'd like to keep you one more night so that we do one more round of regen therapy before you leave. Bakugou, you can pick him up in the morning. He'll need a wheelchair any time he's walking more than fifteen feet—do not argue with me—it is non-negotiable."
Izuku grumbled but agreed because honestly, he was way more excited about getting to leave the hospital than he was bummed about his lack of mobility. "When did you agree to be my caretaker?" he asked once the doctor had left.
"Today, after class," Katsuki replied, turning back to the homework. "Went to Recovery Girl. Noticed you were getting antsy." He looked up when Izuku didn't say anything because a silent Deku was nearly unheard of (unless the asshole was in a fucking coma), and found Izuku staring at him with a look so soft and warm that it made him want to tuck tail and flee. "What?" he demanded, self conscious.
"Nothing! Just...thank you, Kacchan. You're amazing."
Katsuki squirmed. "You've been saying that since we were four. Careful or it'll lose meaning."
"You're also a complete dick," Izuku replied, a little wry.
"Watch it, or I'll push your wheelchair down the stairs, Freckles," Katsuki barked. "Let's finish this chapter, and then I'm gonna go baby-proof the dorm for you."
"I'm not a baby!"
When Katsuki got back to the dorm, he beelined for Eijirou and Mina. "Hey."
"Hey! How's our little green bean doing?" Mina asked. Now that Katsuki was almost completely functional and not primed for a breakdown, they'd turned their overbearing amounts of concern to Izuku's recovery.
"He's good. Stir crazy, but good. That's what I wanted to talk to you about. I'm gonna grab a few people. Meet me in my room?" he asked, tossing his key to Eijirou.
"Sure, dude," he agreed, and they stood to leave. "Hey, Denki and Hanta wanted to do a movie night. What do you think?"
Katsuki paused. "We should do it tomorrow instead. The whole class, down here."
That made them both pause, eyebrows raised. "Uh...did you just suggest a class activity with the
extras? Are you feeling okay, Blasty?" Mina joked. He gave her shoulder a shove. "We'll talk about it later, Pinky."
He tapped Hanta and Denki, then Kyoka, Momo, and Tsuyu.
"What's this about, dude?" Hanta asked, throwing himself onto Katsuki's bed like he owned the damn thing.
"Deku's coming back tomorrow," he declared. "We want to surprise everyone when I bring him back tomorrow, which is why I didn't tell everyone—" he didn't get to finish because there was a sudden commotion— Mina squealed and launching herself at Katsuki, Eijirou and Denki bellowed loud exclamations, and Tsuyu...disappeared for a second? Camouflaged in shock? Something like that. Katsuki didn't have time to dwell on how strange frogs were.
"OI! Focus up, dipshits!" he yelled. How could seven people make that much noise? "Jesus, you fucks are loud."
"Have you met yourself?" Hanta drawled, still lounging on the bed. Katsuki flipped him off for good measure.
"That's why you wanted to do a movie night tomorrow!" Eijirou cried, pointing an accusing finger at him. He rolled his eyes.
"As I was fucking saying," he snarled, allowing Mina to continue sticking to him like a leech. "We want it to be a surprise for the class, but we also have to rearrange some shit so that he can feel comfortable in the dorms. He's temporarily in a wheelchair—he only needs it if he's moving more than fifteen feet, but his mobility is limited. I want to swap his snack shelf with either Tsu's or Mina's."
"Mine is lower, ribbit. He can have mine," Tsu offered.
"I'll help you switch them. He has shit tons of food." Eijirou offered.
"Great. Momo, I was hoping you could make some kind of extenders for the light switches. He had trouble reaching the ones in the hospital and the ones in the dorms are higher up."
"Sure. I can also make a temporary ramp for the stairs to the front door. And maybe some laminate rolls for the carpet so that he can move around more easily?"
He nodded. "Sounds good. There's no need to go crazy with it. He can walk and he's regaining mobility pretty fast so far, but he's not supposed to push it. That's the third thing. His care and study plan."
They all sat straighter, listening attentively, and Katsuki (who had just about had it with all of this emotional bullshit) felt warm and pleased that Izuku had such good people around him who wanted to help him. "Lay it on us, bro!" Eijirou said, looking positively hyped.
"The first point, which I'm expecting some dickishness about, is that I am Deku's primary caregiver. His entire care and recovery plan runs through me and Recovery Girl. That's what I offered when I asked Recovery Girl to make this happen, and it was how we got Auntie to agree." He looked around the room, looking for any dissent, but found none.
"Okay, but you can't do it by yourself," Momo said. "You're planning on splitting everything up, right?"
He nodded. "I'm gonna put up a schedule for his care requirements, and anyone who wants to help out can sign up. It'll mostly just be hanging out with him while he does exercises so that he doesn't overdo it and hurt himself. He doesn't need to be babied or anything. But there'll also be meal prep slots. He's got a kinda strict diet plan for the first month or so, but it would be cool if it didn't taste like shit. I don't currently trust him with knives, considering he dropped his book on my foot twice
today because his grip strength is shot, so it would be cool to take that in shifts." "You can probably work that out with Rikido tomorrow, ribbit," Tsuyu said. "He'd probably take it on himself, if you asked," Mina agreed.
"Probably," Katsuki shrugged. "Okay, last thing. Kinda the most important." They looked at him expectantly. "The 'Dekusquad'," he began, making sure to grimace and use air-quotes so they knew how they felt about the ridiculous nickname. They all scowled to various degrees. "That! That right there is what can't happen," he instructed. "They're his best friends and yeah they were assholes, but they were worried about him. So quit being bitchy about them. And I need you shits to help me get the rest of the class with the program on that."
"They might have been worried about them, but that doesn't excuse how terrible they were to you, Katsuki," Momo frowned. "I meant what I said to Iida—if Izuku had heard what he said to you, he would have—"
"Made a goddamn crater with his body," Mina finished firmly. Momo pointed at her as if to say 'yes, exactly that.'
"Which is why I don't want you little shits to talk about it. I want things to go back to normal," he groaned, dropping into his desk chair and scraping a frustrated hand through his hair.
"They made his mom cry in the hospital," Sero stated bluntly.
"They thought he was going to die. They wanted to spend more time with him while they still had the time. I'm not excusing it, you know how pissed I was. But Deku needs support and he needs his friends. They're important to him, and I don't want to upset him with this," Katsuki insisted. "The cold shoulder thing needs to stop. I don't matter here, he needs to have space to get back to a hundred percent without distraction, and the class divide would be a huge fucking distraction. He runs on the goddamn power of friendship—he would completely ignore himself if he focused on the infighting," he insisted.
Everyone present looked displeased. "Fine. I'll try," Eijirou grumbled. There were similar mumbled assents. But Mina and Denki looked obstinate.
"You don't have to talk to them, and you don't have to play nice. Just...ignore them and don't give them shit. And help me get the class to play nice, too."
"He's gonna figure out that something's wrong, Kat," Mina warned. "We'll try, and if it's what you want, we'll work on getting the rest of the class to chill. But they were really awful to you, and they made a terrible situation so much worse. Some of the things they said about you are unforgivable. Mido is smart, and he'll figure it out."
"Yeah, but maybe we can save his martyr act until he's feeling better," Katsuki replied, feeling so tired. "He doesn't need to focus on petty drama, you know? I don't give a shit what they think about me. I'm pissed that they upset Auntie, but I don't give a damn about their opinion of me. I know what Deku thinks of me, and I know what you dumbasses think of me. That's enough."
"Dude, if you keep that shit up, you are straight-up gonna make me cry," Eijirou warned. "Crying's manly," Mina chuckled. He shoved her.
"Bakugou," Tsuyu began, but hesitated. "I appreciate what you're trying to do. But you arguably went through more than Izuku did. He was unconscious for the whole thing. You went through the
hard work and pain of worrying for him and caring for your parents while being verbally attacked almost every day. I understand that you're taking pains to care for him, but please don't neglect yourself in the process. You have to promise me—us—that if you're feeling overwhelmed by any of it, you'll ask for help or reach out to talk. I don't think that Ochako and Shoto will play nice just because you are. Iida might, since he's been punched in the face twice," she said, eying Momo. "But they've displaced their anger and frustration on you. I won't sit back and let them belittle you, especially if I feel like you're not taking care of yourself," she warned.
He gave her a halfhearted salute, and she supposed that would have to do for now.
"You ready, nerd?" Katsuki asked. It was still early, but he'd gone to pick Izuku up as soon as visiting hours started. Now they were outside Heights Alliance.
"So ready," he replied, practically vibrating. "Let's go, Kacchan, come on!" "Alright, you impatient little shit," Katsuki grumbled, pushing him forward.
The common room was still empty when they entered, but Izuku looked elated to be back regardless. Katsuki shot a quick text to Momo, whom he knew was probably sipping some fancy- ass tea in her room with some romantic classic novel on her giant-ass bed. "Gonna make you breakfast. Wanna hang out with me in the kitchen? Or do you wanna go up to your room and sleep until people wake up?"
Izuku cut him a glare that was not intimidating because he was basically a woodland creature. "If you coddle me, I'm gonna kick your ass when I'm up and running again."
Katsuki scoffed. "Okay, short stack. I'm not coddling you. It's early as fuck. Do you want to watch me make a boring-ass breakfast or do you want to take a nap because it's the ass-crack of dawn? Since when do I coddle you? I haven't coddled you a day in your nerdy-ass life, dweeb."
The freckled disaster gave him a sheepish smile. "You're right. Sorry."
"S'fine, nerd."
"It's just...remember in middle school when Ryoji pushed me and I ended up falling down the stairs and broke my arm?" Izuku asked hesitantly. Katsuki did remember. He had been an asshole, but he rarely got physical aside from gentle shoving. He'd nearly killed Ryoji when he saw Izuku fall. "Before that, people made fun of me, but they'd never treated me like I was gonna break if they touched me wrong. After that, they all treated me like I was gonna break all the time because I was the quirkless kid who broke his arm. As if kids don't occasionally get hurt roughhousing, you know? Everyone treated me like glass. Even my mom," he huffed a dry, unamused laugh. "I mean, my mom has been treating me like I'm frail since my diagnosis. She didn't mean to, of course, and I told her eventually. But everyone treated me like that." He looked at Katsuki with something akin to adoration. "Everyone except you."
Katsuki smirked at him. "And what the hell made you think I'd start now?" he asked, wheeling Izuku into the kitchen.
Izuku shrugged. "Dunno. Maybe I'm just worried everyone else is going to. And it's easier to yell at you about it because I know you won't let me get away with being an actual asshole. Like, they might because they feel bad for me or whatever, but you..." he hesitated. "Are a dick. In the best way possible."
"Gee, thanks."
"In the best way possible!"
They bickered the entire time Katsuki cooked, and it felt so good. It was good to have Deku back, it was good to get back to their easy banter, and it was good to feel comfortable again. Katsuki been crawling out of his skin for months now, so feeling settled and calm was a welcome relief.
Momo joined them, giving Izuku a hug when she saw him. "It's good to have you back! How are you feeling?"
"Not perfect, but definitely better!" he grinned.
"Good. We missed you," she said, placing a hand on his shoulder. "I'd say 'never do that again' but one, I know you, and two, I feel like that would be tempting fate."
Katsuki snickered from the stove while Izuku pouted. "I'm not that bad."
Momo fixed him with the most unimpressed stare he'd ever seen. "You're joking, right?"
Momo made him tea and filled him in on the broad strokes of what he'd missed—like Ojiro and Hagakure's relationship and how Uraraka had hit Hanta with a semi-truck during training. Izuku didn't notice how Katsuki had tensed when she said Uraraka's name, nor how Momo's own jaw had set in irritation.
Halfway through their meal, they were snapped out of their calm morning conversation by an earsplitting shriek. "You're back!" Hagakure cried, from the kitchen door. Ojiro was with her, and he looked as delighted as Hagakure sounded.
"Welcome back, man," Ojiro greeted him before glancing at Katsuki. "Did you make breakfast for everyone? Or am I gonna have to put effort into my morning?"
Katsuki rolled his eyes but jabbed a thumb over his shoulder at the stove, and Ojiro moved to get helpings for himself and Hagakure, while Hagakure herself moved to give Izuku a bear hug. "It's so good to see you!"
"Good to see you too," Izuku paused when he realized the idiocy of his statement. Hagakure was fucking invisible. Katsuki snickered. "Well, like...you know what I mean."
Hagakure giggled. "Yeah, I do. Just wait till you see the finished updates Hatsume made to my costume," she told him excitedly. "Watching those old superhero movies was genius. You were totally right about Hatsume being able to make retro-reflective material. It's so cool—"
"She already finished it?" Izuku asked, amazed. He turned wide eyes to Katsuki, who nodded and whipped out his phone to text the psycho support engineer. "That's awesome! Have you used it yet? Was she able to make it flexible enough to accommodate your normal fighting style?"
As expected, Izuku spiraled into a full-blown nerd meltdown that only got worse as more people joined them in the kitchen to welcome him back and fill him in on their lives both as hero hopefuls and as teenagers with an excess of gossip.
Katsuki had to come up with a system, and fast. With gossip came the class rift that had formed, and he had been serious when he'd said he didn't want it to be an issue. At least not yet. He wasn't so naive that he thought that Deku would never find out, but he at least wanted his first few weeks back to be pleasant and relatively stress-free. In response to the potential disaster, he had posted up in a position where he could glare at people who brought up the Dekusquad tension without alerting Izuku himself. People threw him awkward looks and in response, he'd hold up his phone so
that they'd check their texts, then he'd text them to shut the fuck up about it.
Then Uraraka came down for breakfast. She'd shrieked with joy and launched herself at Izuku, and Katsuki had to physically restrain himself from dragging her off of him. The nerd wasn't made of glass, and he didn't want to start a confrontation right in front of Deku's breakfast.
"You're back!" she screamed, not heeding Izuku's grunt of pain.
"Ochako, I think you're hurting him," Hagakure called, a little colder than she'd have normally said it. Katsuki gave her a warning look, but he couldn't really tell if she'd seen it.
Thankfully, Izuku didn't really notice and Uraraka jumped off of him, stuttering apologies as he reassured her that he was fine. "Just take it easy with the full-body tackles for a few weeks," he laughed, unbothered.
Iida arrived next. "It's good to see you, Midoriya! We were worried about you, especially since we weren't permitted to see you in the hospital!"
Katsuki gritted his teeth. "You weren't allowed to visit me?" Izuku asked, confused.
"We all visited you once," Momo explained loudly, cutting a warning glare at Iida. "We only found out that you were in a coma towards the end of it. Your mom was having trouble coping, and kept your condition private."
"The only person who visited you more than once was Katsuki, at your mother's request. But we all visited in groups towards the end," Kyoka explained.
"Oh. To say goodbye, you mean," Izuku murmured. The kitchen went tense, those present likely remembering their own almost-parting words. "You all must have been so worried," he fretted. "I'm sorry for stressing you guys out again."
"Hey man, it's all good! We're just glad you're back and ready to rock!" Eijirou interrupted the pity party from the doorway, flanked by Mina and Denki. Hanta probably wouldn't be waking up until well past noon.
Uraraka was giving them all weird looks but seemed to understand that a ceasefire had been called. Katsuki hoped Todoroki would be able to grasp that concept. He had a bad brain-to-mouth filter at the best of times.
On the other hand, Katsuki supposed he should give the asshole more credit. He'd been forced to lie about his father's indiscretions for years. Maybe Icy Hot could keep a lid on it if he saw Kirby and Glasses acting 'normal'.
Sure enough, Todoroki entered the kitchen (half the class stiffened just slightly) and he observed the scene quietly before making his way over to Izuku to greet him with a soft, "Welcome back, Izuku."
Izuku smiled up at him. "Thanks, Shoto."
And Katsuki thought that maybe they could get past this without confrontation.
Katsuki blamed One For All. That was the only way that Izuku could be making so much progress with his physical healing in such a short amount of time.
Blamed might be the wrong word. Because it was such a good thing.
It took two weeks for him to ditch the wheelchair with Recovery Girl's genuine blessing. He still had to be smart about it—so Katsuki had asked Momo to give the nerd a panic button. Izuku had nearly slapped it out of Katsuki's hand, but he'd been able to reason with the stubborn dork. Izuku a lot of muscle mass to regain, which meant a lot of tedious physical therapy exercises and treading lightly for a while, but he was doing so well. It was just a matter of patience and effort, and that meant he had to be careful. Katsuki was relieved when he took the button. Baby steps.
The academics were slower going, but Izuku had already been ahead when he'd been attacked, so he wasn't as behind as he could have been. He supposed that was the upside of chasing and competing with Katsuki for the top spot. In order to keep up, he had to get ahead. That said, he was still about a month behind the curriculum.
The whole class had pitched in to get Izuku back on top of school and back in fighting shape. Just like he'd planned, Katsuki had posted a sign-up sheet (that Izuku had grumbled about) in the common room, so that everyone could help and spend time with the nerd.
There was a sticking point, however. One of the rules for taking a PT shift with Deku was that they had to text Katsuki any and all details and observations during the session so that he could accurately report results and concerns back to Recovery Girl. The problem was, none of the Dekusquad were willing to share details of Izuku's care with him. They wouldn't even talk to him. In front of Izuku, they acted like everything was normal, but the second his back was turned, it was like Katsuki didn't exist.
"I don't fuckin' know what to do," he snapped. Eijirou was watching him pace back and forth in his room. "I'm trying to be the bigger person here, but they're—"
"Take them off the sign-up sheet and put someone else up," Eijirou interrupted, booking no room for argument. "And if they fight you on it, tell them they have to keep you updated on the session or you'll go to Aizawa. You hold the cards here, dude. You're his primary caregiver."
"I don't wanna fuckin' pull rank. Those are his friends."
"His friends that are currently jeopardizing his well-being because they're being petty," Eijirou replied darkly. "His health is a priority, dude. I know you want everything to blow over, but it can't be at the cost of his care. You gotta put your foot down."
Of course Eijirou was right. Of course he was. "Fine."
He fully expected the confrontation that came after he replaced Uraraka with Sato on the PT
signup. He just wasn't expecting it to be so public. Or so heterochromatic.
"You're stopping us from helping with his physical therapy now? You can't control his entire life, Bakugou, and you can't control who he spends time with!" Todoroki barked at him in the common room. Luckily there weren't that many people present, and Izuku was in his room studying. Katsuki cut his eyes over to Tsuyu, who correctly interpreted his glance and sighed but stood up to go keep Izuku away from their spat.
"You removed us from the list?" Iida demanded. "You can't do that!"
"Actually," he snarled. "I can. I'm his primary caregiver, remember? I was trying to be cool about it and let you shitheads help with his PT, but there was one condition—you report his progress and setbacks to me so that I can make sure his plan is still working. You refused to do that, which puts
his progress at risk. So yeah, motherfucker. You're no longer on the list. I'm not gonna stop you from spending time with him because who he's friends with is his business, but it's not gonna have anything to do with his recovery. That's on you for not following basic directions."
"Of course you're defaulting to profanity and childish insults. Why would we ever expect maturity out of an emotionally stunted bully," Todoroki glared. Katsuki held up a hand to stop Eijirou and Hanta in their tracks. He was gonna have to say no to any physical altercations that would make this shitshow worse.
"You can be pissed at me all you want, Icy Hot," Katsuki snapped. "I don't give a shit. I'm not letting you fuck with his progress because you're too petty to work with me for his benefit."
Momo moved forward to stand beside him when Iida opened his mouth to object. "You've been withholding medical data from Katsuki, and therefore Recovery Girl," she glared at them, gaze colder than he'd ever seen it. "Katsuki was well within his rights to take you off the list. It's not only his choice, it's his responsibility. I expected better from both of you. And if you harass him about it any further, I'll be going to Aizawa," She glared down at Katsuki. "Because apparently, you won't."
"I have been trying to make the nerd's transition back to the dorms as normal and peachy as fucking possible. I can't do that if his dickhead friends are on house arrest," Katsuki defended himself.
"Did you ask Izuku if he wanted his medical information shared with you? It sounds like you're strong-arming him into doing things your way, just like you always do," Iida interrupted, pushing into Katsuki's personal space. "Midoriya looked uncomfortable with us sharing the information with you, which is why we opted not to."
"He was uncomfortable because he doesn't want to be a burden to people, not because he didn't want you to follow his care plan!" Katsuki spat.
"You all need to take a step back," Kyoka said, stepping between them. "I could hear you yelling from the first floor. Iida, Todoroki, Katsuki is in charge of Mido's care. That's not up for discussion or negotiation. If you can't get with the program, then you can't be part of the program. That doesn't mean you can't spend time with him outside of PT. You can still help him with his studies or even just hang out with him. But his care is Katsuki's responsibility. So back off."
They didn't look like they were done, but Momo cut them off. "I mean it. You try to fight him on this, and I'm going to Aizawa. The best-case scenario is house arrest. The worst case is that Iida will be stripped of his role as class president for endangering Izuku's wellbeing, and you'll both be barred from helping him in any part of his recoup that Katsuki is involved in. Pick wisely."
They let Katsuki leave, but he could tell they weren't going to let this blow over. He hoped they would come around before Deku noticed the tension, but at the end of the day, all that mattered was that he recovered. He wouldn't let anything distract him from that.
"You've got it, Izuku," Tsuyu smiled, handing his assignment binder back to him. "Do you feel like you understand everything? Or did you want to go over anything?"
He smiled brightly. "I think I've got it! Thank you so much, Tsu," Izuku replied. "Are you coming to movie night tonight?"
Tsuyu tilted her head, tapping her pointer finger on her chin. "I haven't heard about a movie night. Who will be there?" she asked.
"The usual. Ochako, Shoto, and Tenya. You didn't know about it? That's weird," he replied, idly glancing back over the notes he'd been working with. When she didn't reply, he looked up. "Tsu?"
"Sorry, Izuku, I have plans tonight that I forgot about," she replied, smiling at him. Her fists were clenched under the table. "Katsuki and Eijirou were going to teach me some of their upper body strengthening techniques today, and then we were going to play Mario Kart in Denki's room."
"You've been hanging out with Kacchan a lot, lately," Izuku observed, curious but nonjudgmental. "It's nice. Different, but nice. He doesn't really open up to people easily," he chuckled.
"That's an understatement. But he was a really good and supportive friend when you were in the hospital. First to you and your mom, and then to the rest of us when we figured out what was going on. I felt really bad, though."
"What do you mean?" he frowned. "Why would you feel bad?"
"When he first found out, he wasn't really supposed to tell anyone what was going on, you know? He didn't want your mom to be burdened, and he carried that all on his own. I think you've realized how much you mean to him, so it can't be hard to imagine what he felt like when he thought he
was gonna lose you," she explained patiently. "But we didn't know what was happening. Just that his temper was getting shorter and that it felt like he was keeping a secret. Some of us got frustrated with him and didn't really consider what was going on with him, and he started to break down. In the beginning, the only people who had his back were Eijirou, Mina, Denki, Hanta, and Jirou. At first, they were confused and frustrated too, but one day it was like a switch flipped and they were basically his bodyguards. That's when I realized how much it was affecting him. I was really grateful to them for helping him deal with it, but I felt really bad for not trying to understand how much of a toll it was taking."
"Sounds like you figured it out, though," Izuku pointed out. "You've always been the most level- headed person in the class."
"Yeah, but it took too long. I feel bad because I let him feel like he had to do it alone for too long. We may not have been close, but this class sticks together, you know?" she shrugged. "So yeah, I started spending more time with him and finding ways to make it a little easier on him. Making sure that he was getting his assignments done and making sure people didn't pester him too much. Momo, too. We didn't have to do much, though. The main Bakusquad took really good care of him."
"I'm glad someone was taking care of him. He always carries so many expectations with him, you know? That's where a lot of his anger comes from," he explained. "He was always told that he was the coolest and strongest and those expectations got to him. It's where he got that pathological need to be the best—"
"Pot calling the kettle black—"
"And that weird idea that asking for help is some kind of weakness. And hey, my pathological need is to prove myself, not to be the best," Izuku denied with a wry grin. "My therapist calls it a dangerous crossbreed between my inferiority and martyr complexes."
"As long as you're aware," Tsuyu smiled back, equally dry. Aizawa's mandate that all of Class A receive mental health counseling was the smartest investment the school had ever made. Of course, now they just threw each other's mental imbalances around as playful jabs, which one could argue was a questionable way of using humor to cope with trauma.
"But yeah, I'm glad he had the Bakusquad. And I'm glad he had you. You're probably the best person to have around when you're losing your head. Even when things are getting to you, you seem to hold it together enough to make a plan."
"Flattery won't get you out of calculus, Izuku," she scolded. He flushed. "That's not what I was trying to do!"
Hanging out with Hatsume had been awkward at first—she had no sense of personal space or boundaries, and Izuku was shy and uncomfortable in his own skin to an almost morbid degree. But as he'd seen her genius day-to-day, he had developed a need to pick her brain about the minutiae of her inventions and make recommendations of his own.
It had, of course, begun as a very stern and disappointed lecture. Mei was a brilliant inventor, and undoubtedly would take the world by storm, but she had a tendency to have a one-size-fits-all approach. She so wanted each of her inventions to be appreciated that as soon as someone requested something that had even one point of compatibility, she would try to jam her mismatched jigsaw piece into the wrong slot.
With that new critique in mind, they'd become a near-unstoppable nerd force. Katsuki's words, not his.
They were going over new designs for Kendo's hero costume now, workshopping ideas that stemmed from her requests. Hitoshi was with them, too, quietly doing his homework while they argued about the structural integrity of armor that could vary in size. When they finally decided to figure out how to make retractable Kevlar gloves, Mei breathed a sigh of relief. "I'm so glad I won't have to find out what I'd do without you," she said.
Izuku jolted, words lancing through him like a dagger. Hitoshi's head snapped up. "Mei—" Izuku breathed.
"Sorry, 'Zuku. I know we haven't really talked about it, but that was really scary," she continued. Hitoshi just flicked his eyes between them. "You looked so awful, and we had no idea how to fix it. We had no idea who we were looking for and you were running out of time so fast—"
"It was pretty awful," Hitoshi agreed. "I came to see you with Mirio. You looked so bad that Aizawa wouldn't let us bring Eri, but it still took me by surprise when I saw you. And Momo wasn't just sad, she was mad. She was so mad at you for not waking up."
"Seeing you lying there all still and quiet is so fundamentally against who you are, it was infuriating," Mei agreed. "I almost wanted to slap you to snap you out of it. You're lucky Mina was holding my hand."
Izuku snorted. "You were gonna slap a coma patient? Not nice, Mei."
"Neither is playing a corpse," she shot back. Izuku flinched. "It's not your fault. And this is the career path we chose. It's dangerous. I just didn't really consider that it could happen when you were walking back to school instead of on a battlefield. That fucked me up a little," she explained. "I'm serious, Broccolini. I'm so glad that we didn't lose you."
"I think that's why Denks and I went so hard into finding Takeda. We were pissed that after everything, you were gonna go out with a whimper. We don't want you to go out with a bang, either, so don't get any ideas," he warned. "But the idea that some cowardly villain had snuck up on you and that we'd be the only people to understand how much you'd done for us? It was
maddening. The world doesn't deserve you, but you give so much—however you can. That's what we were losing."
Izuku was crying now. Not a huge surprise, and he knew that, but god. What could he even say to that? "You guys give me too much credit."
"Tch. You don't give yourself enough," Mei scolded. "You should have seen Bakugou. You should have heard him. You know what he said?" she asked, laughing incredulously. "He said 'he's been a hero for years. And if he can't do the rest himself, we'll just follow his lead.' It was the first time I'd ever actually heard him say something serious or sentimental. I'll remember it forever." Izuku was basically flooding the workshop at this point.
"He said that?" he sobbed, hiding his eyes behind his hands as his spine bent with sadness.
"He spent two months considering how he was gonna live his life without you, dude," Hitoshi replied. "I think most of us realized just how intertwined you two are over those two weeks. And we also realized how much of an impact you'd had on our heroic perspective. It was impactful. In a really shitty way."
"Super scary," Mei agreed.
"I'll try not to do it again," he promised, wiping his face.
Hitoshi scoffed. "We're heroes, Izuku. There's a certain degree of inevitability. And like she said, this wasn't your fault."
"But," she interrupted. "You can wear this when you're out and about. Make the whole villain tracking thing easier. I'm considering making them for your whole disaster class," she said, tossing him a little box. He opened it.
"An earring?" he asked, confused. "Are you gonna pierce my ear?"
"Only if you consent," she shrugged. "But that's not just an earring. It's a bodycam. Obviously, I can make one as a pin or something that you can stick to your bag, but if it's an earring it can't be taken off or forgotten without some intention, you know?"
"A bodycam? Who would have access to the footage?" he asked, trepidation growing.
"It would be a closed feed. You'd have to take it off to download the footage. So anyone who knows that it's a camera," she replied, shrugging.
"Mei," Hitoshi drawled. "That sounds like a fast track to Class A's first sex tape." Izuku blushed violently. "Excuse me?"
"Not you, dude. But thanks for confirming that you're a virgin. There's a bet," Hitoshi smirked as Izuku sputtered. "She said she wanted to make them for all of Class A. Denki, Mina, Eijirou, Hagakure, and Ojiro are the weak points in that scenario."
"Denki's dating someone?" Izuku asked, confused. Hitoshi gave him an incredulous look.
"Yeah, me. That twink sat on my lap the entire time we were studying on Tuesday, Izuku. Did you not notice that?"
"I did! But Denki has no physical boundaries at all. I thought it might just be a thing you do. It's not
like you made out in front of me or anything," Izuku insisted, embarrassed. "Is that what it takes?" he drawled. "Because we could, if you want—"
"Stooooooop," Izuku whined, now beet red with his face tucked into his hands. Hitoshi laughed. It was good to have him back.
It was Mina and Eijirou's day to help with Izuku's physical therapy. It was weird because he was pretty sure that Shoto had claimed this slot, but apparently, his friends had come to the conclusion that they tended to get distracted and complacent when they worked with him. So, in the interest of his recovery, they'd taken up spots on his study roster instead.
It was an interesting decision, but he didn't disagree and he didn't really mind. He could still spend time with them outside of PT, and he was getting to spend tons of time with classmates that he didn't usually end up working with. In a round-about way, it was a gift.
"You're doing great, Green Bean!" Mina smiled. "How're you feeling? Any pain or discomfort?"
He nodded. "Yeah, but it's pretty in line with what Recovery Girl said I should expect at this stage. And I'm not getting tired as quickly."
"Good!" Eijirou smiled, taking notes. "We're supposed to finish up with clamshells and stretches. Feeling up for it? Or do you want to take a break?"
He hesitated. "Let's take a quick break," he replied. She flashed him a thumbs up and they sank to the floor to sit cross-legged on the floor. Eijirou wanted to keep asking him about how he felt regarding the exercises, but he had other plans. "Hey," he began. "I wanted to thank you two."
Mina grinned at him. "It's no problem, Mido!"
Yeah, we're all excited to have you kick our asses in training again," Eijirou joked.
"Oh, yeah, thanks for helping with my PT, but that's not what I'm talking about," he chuckled. "I've already talked to Denki, but I need to thank you two, Hanta, and Kyoka. I was hanging out with Tsu, and we ended up talking about how hard my situation was on Kacchan. We also talked about how you guys forced him to open up so that you could support him. I'm sure he would have found a way to deal with it on his own, but I'm so glad that he didn't have to."
Mina smiled sadly. "We were sad and scared too, you know? So helping him stay strong gave us something to focus on that was productive."
"We wouldn't have let him do it alone," Eijirou agreed. "Still," he said. "It's not exactly easy to get him to open up."
"He needed to take care of your mom and his parents," Mina explained. "I think he knew that he couldn't let pride or bravado get in the way of his ability to support them, you know?"
Izuku nodded, but it was absent in a way that told both Mina and Eijirou that he was trying to figure out what to say, so they waited. "It's comforting, you know," he said. "Not in a good way, and I promise I'm going to be more careful and conscious in the future, but it's comforting to know that if something happens to me, the people I love will have each other. Kacchan will have you guys, my mom will have him, you'll have him—" he sighed. "It's always been me, my mom, and the Bakugous. My dad left when he thought I was quirkless, so for as long as I've really understood
what family means, my family was just the five of us. But now we have all of you, and that's a comforting thought."
Mina's control seemed to snap then, and she crawled forward to throw her arms around Izuku. "One of these days, I'm gonna get back at you and Blasty for making me cry so much," she sniffed into his neck. He let out a surprised chuff of laughter.
"At least now you know how I feel," he laughed, hugging her back. "I could water a forest with the sheer volume of my tears."
"I'm not sure this is a competition you should be trying to win, dude," Eijirou chuckled. "But I'm glad you think of me as family. I'm honored, man."
Mina pulled back. "Okay, you ready to keep going? I wanna get you back in shape so that I can kick your ass without feeling bad for beating you up."
Izuku snorted. "Yeah, sure. Good luck with that," he replied, standing.
"No dude, lie back down. Clamshells, remember?" Eijirou reminded him, grinning when Izuku grumbled and lowered himself back onto the floor.
While Eijirou coached him through his exercises, Mina complained about her struggles with the unit they were studying in English. "English is just so weird. Nothing is ever pronounced the way it's spelled," she grumbled.
"If you want, you can crash my study session after this. I'm actually pretty good with English," he admitted, face a little pink from exertion. "I watched a lot of news footage from All Might's time in America, so I kinda ended up teaching myself."
"That would be awesome!" Mina gushed.
"Great," he replied. "Shoto is going over the curriculum with me to make sure I didn't miss anything. Kinda weird that he's the one tutoring me in English when Denki's top of the class, though." He didn't really notice that Mina had gone tense.
"I didn't think about asking Denki! He's usually such a knucklehead that I keep forgetting that he's top of the class in English," Mina laughed a little too brightly. Izuku's eyes snapped to her, narrowing in consideration. "I might ask him if you don't mind me backing out on you."
"Of course not," Izuku replied, warm but cautious. He had the feeling he was in the vicinity of a landmine. "You'd probably be more comfortable studying with him, anyway. Shoto can be kind of intense about studying."
"I'm sure he has nothing on Bakubro," Eijirou joked, moving Izuku into a stretch. "I'm pretty sure I had a concussion after our first study session."
"He hit you with a textbook?" Izuku asked.
"Does he do that to everyone? Dang, I thought I was special," he grumbled.
"Right, because he totally takes time to tutor just any old extra," Izuku replied sarcastically. "You're his best friend, Ei."
Eijirou raised an eyebrow. "Second best." Izuku looked up at him, confused. "You, dude." He watched as Izuku blushed and re-busied himself with his exercises.
Later, when Izuku had left to go study with Todoroki, they settled onto the bed and pulled out Eijirou's laptop to watch a movie, Mina settling against his shoulder. "Hey, Ei? They'll figure it out, right?"
"Hm? Who will?"
"Green Bean and Blasty. They'll figure it out, right?" Eijirou scoffed. "They already know," he replied.
"How are you feeling, Deku?" Uraraka asked, eyeing him as he yawned. They were well into the fifth hour of their study session and his energy was flagging.
"Just a little tired. I wanna finish this worksheet before I head to bed, though."
"You shouldn't push yourself too hard, Izuku," Iida scolded. Izuku rolled his eyes playfully.
"I have the luxury of sleeping in while you guys are in class. The beauty of independent study," he joked. They still looked concerned, and he sighed. "I promise, I'm okay. I didn't even really push myself in PT. History is just boring." He gave them a small smile.
"If you're tired, you should rest," Todoroki tried. "You could finish the worksheet during your independent study hours, right? You'd be more alert, anyways."
"Really, I'm fine. I already went over my care plan with Kacchan to check in with him, and he agrees that as long as I go to bed before midnight, I should be fine," he assured them.
If anything, they looked less confident. "Bakugou isn't exactly a good example of moderation or pacing," Iida warned.
Uraraka laughed. "He's kind of the definition of overboard, Deku," she smiled at him. "Are you sure he's adjusting his standards to consider your recovery?"
"Yeah, I'm sure. He got everything approved by Aizawa and Recovery Girl," he shrugged. Uraraka shared a look with Iida.
"Well, as long as you're sure Aizawa and Recovery Girl approved, I suppose I have no protest. But please make sure to tell us if you're feeling overtaxed," Iida instructed, stern as ever.
"I will! I promised Kacchan that I'd start taking better care of myself. If I get too tired, I'll go to bed." This time it was Uraraka and Todoroki who shared a look, but Izuku was looking at Iida.
"Will you promise us the same thing?" Uraraka spoke up. "We know you put a lot of importance in your relationship with Bakugou, but it would make us feel better if you promise us."
"Of course, I will," Izuku frowned, confused and a little frustrated. "I'd like you to trust me at my word, though."
"We do," Todoroki replied. "But sometimes actually saying it out loud helps you remember it when you're actually in a situation that demands it."
"Oh yeah! Present Mic taught us that in study hall!" Uraraka clapped. "It totally works. If you study out loud, sometimes you retain information better."
"Why do you think I mumble?" Izuku demanded, laughing. "But yeah, I promise I'm committed to
taking better care of myself. I'm sorry to have worried you in the past, but I'm really working on improving myself."
They smiled at him. "Thanks, Deku," Uraraka said sweetly.
On an early Saturday morning two months after he left the hospital, Izuku graduated from physical therapy with Recovery Girl's blessing. He was now four months behind on training, and now that he was medically cleared again, he had a lot of work to do. He was stoked.
"Kaaaaaaccchhaaaaan!" Izuku bellowed, running into the common room. The inhabitants all jumped to varying degrees. "Is he in his room? Where is he?"
"What's wrong? What did he do?" Todoroki asked, standing. Izuku's mind blanked for a second.
"What did he do? Nothing! Why would you ask that? No, I just need to talk to him," Izuku explained, nearly shaking out of his skin with excitement. He was too excited to really note the dark look Kyoka and Momo shared with Koda.
"I think he's with Kirishima, Mido," Hagakure called from her spot on Ojiro's lap.
"Thanks!" he called back before running for the elevator. He was in front of Eijirou's door in record time, knocking vigorously. Eijirou pulled the door open, alarmed.
"Jesus Mido, what happened? You okay?" Eijirou asked, looking Miroriya over to see if he was injured or unsafe, only to be ripped back and replaced by Katsuki.
He grabbed Izuku by the shoulders and shifted him around to do a full-body scan as the smaller boy struggled to get him off. "Kacchan, I'm fine!" he whined. "I came to tell you that I got approved for training today!" Katsuki's eyes snapped to his, a wild grin spreading on his face. That was the expression Izuku was chasing—the one that set his heart racing and made his muscles tense. There was nothing in the world that was more exhilarating than training and growing with Katsuki.
"Dude, that's awesome but did you have to scare the crap out of us?" Eijirou shot him a dirty look, but it lacked any heat. He was excited about this too. "I thought the dorm was on fire or something!"
Katsuki's grin fell into a half-hearted scowl, and he smacked Izuku upside the head. "He's right. You could have just texted, nerd," Katsuki scolded.
Izuku whined. "But I'm excited!" he pouted. "And I left my phone in my room when I went to Recovery Girl."
"That's another thing," Katsuki replied as he pulled away, looking affronted. "Why'd you go to granny without me?"
He shrugged. "She emailed me to come to see her this morning. I think she looked at your updates for the last week and thought I was ready to start training again. She did tell me to take it easy for the first couple of weeks, but she seemed okay with how I'm progressing."
"That's awesome, nerd," Katsuki grinned again, reaching up to ruffle his emerald curls. Izuku grinned back, flushing with delight. Completely forgotten behind them, Eijirou smirked knowingly. "We gotta put together a training plan," he continued. "You probably can't get all the way up to full strength without crumbling like a cracker oof—" he wheezed as Izuku jabbed him in the stomach.
"Mean, Kacchan!" but he was still grinning. "I'm gonna email Aizawa and All Might to let them know that I'm cleared to start on a training plan."
Katsuki looked over his shoulder at Eijirou, who raised an unimpressed eyebrow. "Of course you should go with him, Bakubro, you're his number one training partner. The brain cells are low with the Wonder Duo today."
"Fuck you!" "Hey!"
They ended up having a meeting with All Might on the same day. "I'm proud of your progress, young Midoriya," All Might smiled, and Izuku tried very hard not to literally glow with pride as Katsuki smirked at him. "Getting you caught up with your classmates won't be simple—you're still better developed than you were before I gave you my quirk, but you have to gain a lot of muscle mass before you can handle the continuous 35% you could maintain before. I'd say you should start testing yourself at 5% and work your way up."
Izuku practically felt Katsuki wilting beside him. "Hey, don't pout! You get to pummel me until I get up to speed!" Izuku joked. Katsuki was unamused.
"I always pummel you nerd," he drawled. "And I won't be able to pummel you at my max until you can hit 20%. So we better start training, because training with Ei is fine, but—"
"But he can't match your feral pomeranian energy? That's what Kyoka said the other day," Izuku gave him a teasing grin, barely flinching when Katsuki punched him in the shoulder.
"I'll have a diet and training plan ready for you two by this afternoon," All Might told them, watching them in rapt amusement. "And I'll keep Ground Beta clear for you every day for a few hours. Just let me know what time you think you want to train. How's your schoolwork coming, kid?"
"Pretty good!" Izuku replied, excited. "I'm mostly caught up, I just have a couple of assignments left for each class. If I work through the weekend, I might be able to come back to class this week! Everyone in the class has been so helpful. Kacchan made this awesome study schedule and everyone signed up to take turns tutoring me; it was so nice of them—"
Katsuki couldn't keep the fond look off his face as he listened to Deku ramble about his study plan. To a random observer, his face would probably look blank or disinterested but to anyone acquainted with his resting bitch face knew that his current expression was downright affectionate. He clearly knew it too, because as soon as All Might caught his eye, he plastered on his trademark neutral scowl.
"I'm glad to hear you're feeling good about your progress," All Might smiled. "Once you're officially caught up in class and Aizawa approves, we'll reallocate some of the time you've been using for provisional study into extra training."
Izuku grinned. "At least I won't have to clean up Dagobah beach again," he joked. Katsuki paused, then very slowly turned to Izuku.
"You're the one who cleaned Dagobah?" Katsuki asked. "That place had whole-ass cars and appliances. When?"
Izuku frowned. "Uh, basically the ten months after the sludge villain up until the entrance exam. I could have sworn I told you about it. It's how I was trained to hold One for All. If I hadn't, I would
have like...exploded as soon as I used it. I would have actually died in the entrance exam like you thought I would," he chuckled.
And oh, Katsuki didn't like being reminded of what a dick he had been. How mindless fear and pride had warped his intentions until he was cruel and caustic to the only person that stuck with him because of who he was, not for his quirk. "That's fuckin' insane, nerd," he replied.
"We started with the small stuff," he shrugged, silently noting the subtle shift in Katsuki's demeanor. "The microwaves and car tires went first. I worked my way up to appliances and cars."
"Did you hear the sentence that just came out of your face?" Katsuki demanded. "You could carry a car in middle school. That's what I just heard. Our classmates were lucky you don't have a vindictive bone in your body, or else there would have been some busted heads."
Izuku rolled his eyes. "I wouldn't have beaten any of them up, Kacchan," he insisted. "That would have put me on their level." This time when Katsuki shifted, Izuku's eyes lasered in on the movement.
"The training plan, boys?" All Might recalled their attention. "While you wait, spend the time you'd typically spend doing physical therapy doing basic strengthening. If you want, I can send you a list of exercises to do every day."
"I think Kacchan and Eijirou can help with that," Izuku replied, cocking his head at Katsuki who nodded. "They've been helping Tsu with her upper body conditioning. They should be able to bulk up my new noodle arms." He prodded his now nonexistent biceps with a petulant pout.
"Self-pity is unattractive, Deku," Katsuki scolded chopping him on the head. "It'll happen when you put the work in. Chill out."
All Might laughed at them. "All right, boys, get out of here. The faster young Midoriya finishes his work, the sooner he can get back into training. I know you're both itching for one of your training brawls."
They grinned at that, eyes glinting with the nearly psychotic competitive spirit that All Might had come to adore about them. It was destructive and ridiculous, sure, but spoke volumes of the trust and respect the two held for each other.
They stood to leave, Katsuki throwing his arm around Izuku's shoulders to drag him into a headlock as he pulled him out the door. "Kacchan leggoooooo," he whined, wriggling in his grip.
"Make me, Freckles," Katsuki jeered. He yelped and dropped Izuku a second later when the nerd dug his fingers into Katsuki's sides. "Playing dirty," he scolded.
"You said to make you!" Izuku grinned, grin mischievous and taunting.
They talked about training plans on the way back to the dorm, but about halfway there, Izuku stopped them, pulling Katsuki to the side of the walkway. "Hey, you know I've more than forgiven you for middle school, right? It's in the past and we've come really far. And I know why you did it, now."
Katsuki grimaced. Another talk about emotions? Why was this happening to him? "Just because you know why I did it, doesn't excuse my actions, Deku," he replied seriously. Izuku considered him carefully for a moment, before gripping Katsuki's wrist and dragging him away. "Where are you taking me, nerd?"
"Somewhere where we can sit and talk," Izuku replied. When Katsuki realized they were headed to Ground Gamma, he dug his heels in. "We're not gonna fight Kacchan, Jesus," he complained, yanking a little harder. "I'm physically incapable. But I found this spot in Ground Gamma that's really calm when we're not doing battle sims."
And sure enough, there was a small courtyard tucked away between a building, with a small fountain surrounded by benches. "Why the hell would they put something like this on a battle sim training ground?" Katsuki grumbled. "It probably gets destroyed every fucking day."
"It does," Izuku agreed. "Midnight showed it to me when I had a panic attack at the beginning of the year. She said she comes here to relax since going off-campus is a pain in the ass with all the security measures. Cementoss rebuilds it for her every time it gets wrecked."
Katsuki squinted. "Please tell me Midnight isn't banging Cementoss."
"Not really my business," Izuku laughed. "But I'm pretty sure Midnight is banging Ectoplasm, and Cementoss is asexual. But I obviously can't confirm that without having a few very uncomfortable conversations."
Katsuki wrinkled his nose. "I said tell me she's not banging Cementoss, not tell me she's banging someone else, nerd. Jesus, I don't want to think about my teachers banging. What the fuck is wrong with you?"
"So much, but we don't have enough time to get into that. I have homework to do," he replied, dragging Katsuki to a bench. "Sit."
"What am I a dog?" Katsuki grumbled.
"No, but you can be a bitch sometimes," Izuku fired back without missing a beat. "I asked you to communicate with me, Kacchan. If you're still in your head about the stuff that happened in middle school, we need to talk about it."
Katuski sighed, sounding very put upon by this whole ordeal. "I know things are better, nerd. I just think you let me off the hook too easily. I told you to jump off a building. That's something I actually said to you. I didn't mean it, and I knew you wouldn't do it, but I still said it. I haven't even apologized, and you've forgiven me anyway."
"But you have," Izuku groaned, rolling his eyes hard. "You're not good with words, and you think that actions speak louder. Do you think I don't notice everything you've done for me over the past year and a half? How hard you work to be there for me? I'm not blind. You did more than just apologize. You atoned, and that's so much more valuable. But even if you hadn't I would have forgiven you, because I know you. Sure I lose sight of your intentions sometimes, but I knew you cared even when every move I made seemed to piss you off, because the second I got myself in trouble, you'd be right there to help me. Even in middle school—after the stairs, you never let anyone get physical with their bullying beyond like...pushing me into a locker or something."
"I could have stopped them from bullying you at all," Katsuki reminded him, looking down at his hands that were twisting in his lap. "If I had swallowed my pride or supported you from the beginning, none of it would have happened. It took me being here to really get it, you know? You could have been a hero without a quirk. You could have. I mean, Caterpillar-sensei fights quirkless for the most part, why not you? And you're smart. If it weren't for that kamikaze streak, you would have been an ideal underground hero," he looked up at Izuku and found him tearing up.
"And that's why I want you to get out of the past. It might have shaped us, but it doesn't matter
anymore. You've grown to see me for what I am, and that's all I ever wanted."
"I gave you an inferiority complex the size of the entire Asian continent," Katsuki replied, tone a little hysterical. Izuku placed his hand over Katsuki's where they sat on his lap. "You've always had the martyr complex, but I made you think you were useless."
Izuku scoffed. "That was my dad, Kacchan, remember? That festered for years before you ever started bullying me. Yeah, you started calling me Deku, but that was because I couldn't bounce a ball properly, not because I was quirkless. Then you started bullying me because you thought I was looking down on you when I was trying to help you out of the river, and you've been petty since the day you were born. My dad is the one who said that he couldn't live in a house with a son who wouldn't amount to anything."
Katsuki stared at him in shock. "When the hell did he say that?"
"Uh, the day he left? Really loudly. I told you about it literally the next day. Cried about it right in the middle of the playground." Izuku replied incredulously. He watched Katsuki's face go through an unpredictable series of expressions before it settled on fury.
"I remember now. I couldn't actually understand anything you were saying except 'dad left' because you were blubbering so hard," Katsuki growled. "And that motherfucker had the audacity to come to the hospital?"
Izuku felt like he'd been electrocuted. "What?"
Katsuki met his eyes. "Auntie didn't tell you? He showed up the same wee that the rest of the class said goodbye. I told him off and Auntie ended up kicking him out. Did she know what he said when he left?"
Izuku shook his head, both shocked and sheepish. "I didn't want her to be sad like I was," he replied. "Martyr complex, remember? But that's my point. You take care of me and defend me when I can't do it myself. You took care of my mom when I couldn't. There's no one closer to me than you, Kacchan. Why wouldn't I forgive you?"
"I'm an asshole," Katsuki insisted.
"Just another thing I love about you," Izuku grinned, nudging his shoulder with his own. "Now
stop beating yourself up for stuff we've moved past and come help me with my calc assignment." Katsuki sighed. "Fine, nerd. You win."
The Wednesday after their conversation with All Might, Izuku returned to classes. That evening, they threw a party in the dorm—a low key one, but a party nonetheless. Most of the hero course students came by to congratulate him, and they stayed up until Aizawa came through to shut it down.
With his reintroduction to class came his reintroduction to training. For three hours after classes every day, Izuku belonged to Katuski and All Might—not just training and sparring but also taking the extra time to make sure that he wasn't too injured or strained. If he managed to get through without breaking anything, then they'd table their visits to Recovery Girl for the following morning. Then, at the end of every week, they had to check in with Recovery Girl regardless. It was time-consuming and exhausting, but Katuski could see the joy and determined fire in Izuku's face at the end of every day.
Now, a month later, Izuku had finally made it to 10%, and they'd celebrated by destroying a city block in a battle sim on Ground Beta. Izuku came out worse for wear but exhilarated, and Recovery Girl had given him a kiss. Unfortunately, it wasn't enough to completely fix him up since his stamina was now at rock bottom—exhausted to his core.
He limped into the common room, Katsuki flanking him in case he collapsed. "Gunna take a nap," he slurred, eyes practically closed already. "Wake me up fer dinner?"
Katsuki smirked. "Sure, nerd. Need help up to your room? Your leg's all fucked up."
"Nah, m'good," he smiled blearily before turning to limp to the elevator.
"Bakugou," Todoroki said, appearing at Katsuki's side. Katsuki did not jump.
"Jesus Christ, IcyHot, wear a goddamn bell," he hissed before turning toward the kitchen. Todoroki grabbed his arm.
"We need to talk," he replied, cold. Katsuki pulled his arm out of Todoroki's grip.
"No, we fucking don't," he kept moving toward the kitchen, hoping that someone was there to bear witness to whatever bullshit was about to go down.
The kitchen was empty. Fuck.
"You're going to listen to me, Bakugou," Todoroki snapped, and to Katsuki's extreme discomfort,
he walled off the door to the kitchen with ice.
"If you think I won't blast my way out of that, you're wrong."
"If you think I won't beat you down to make you listen, you're wrong. Back off of Midoriya," he growled. Katsuki almost wanted to appreciate how much emotion Todoroki was displaying—he'd never seen this many facial expressions out of him in the two years he'd known him.
"What the hell are you talking about?"
"You're taking up all his free time with 'training'," Katsuki resented the air quotes, thank you very much. "And you're injuring him almost daily. He could barely walk when he came in here."
Katskuki looked at him like he'd grown a second head. "That's how hero training works, Halfie."
"You think I can't tell that you're taking the opportunity to beat him up while he's not at full strength?" he demanded. "You're taking up all of his free time so that his friends can't spend any time with him. You know he'd take anything you offer because you treated him like crap for so long, and you're taking advantage of that. Not only are you controlling who he spends time with, but you're also pushing him past his limits and it's unhealthy and dangerous!"
Katsuki fell silent, studying Todoroki intently. "So not only is my mother abusive, you think I'm abusive, too," he gave a harsh laugh. "Fine, at least I know what you think of me now. But listen up because I'm not saying this again. First of all, his training plan was put together by Aizawa and All Might, and it was approved by Recovery Girl. He asked me to be his training partner, and I accepted. You're free to ask him if you can help him train too, but that's not my business. He decided he wanted my help and I gave it. Second of all, who the fuck are you to decide what his limits are?"
"He's obviously pushing himself too far, and it's to impress you! His relationship with you is
unhealthy—"
"It definitely used to be," Katsuki agreed. Todoroki fell silent, clearly not expecting that admission. "But we've both grown a lot, and we've been working on it. That said, it has nothing to do with you, and it has nothing to do with his training which is supervised by a teacher at all times," he snapped. "Trust me, IcyHot, there is nothing that Deku hates more than being treated with kid gloves. Trying to hold him back for his own good will end very badly for you."
"Is that a threat?"
"It's a fact," he replied seriously. "If he feels like you're coddling him, he'll pull away from you. You have to trust him to know what he's doing. He deserves that much—he's come this far and has more than earned your trust. Even if he pushes too far, that's his choice and all we can do is be there if he falls. You can't decide how far he goes or how hard he pushes."
"Neither can you!" Todoroki bellowed. Someone was pounding on the wall of ice now.
"And I don't!" Katsuki bellowed back. "I know your dad is an abusive, controlling piece of shit, but you can't just transpose that relationship on everything you see that doesn't fit your picture-perfect view of what a good friendship or relationship is."
For a flash, Todoroki looked like he'd been slapped. "You're not good for him." Sato broke down the ice.
"That's not for you to decide," Katsuki replied.
"What the hell is going on in here?" Sato demanded, Koda right behind him.
Todoroki and Katsuki stared each other down. "Nothing," Katsuki finally replied. "Get out, IcyHot, I need to make dinner."
Todoroki maintained his glare for a long, uncomfortable moment before scoffing and storming away in a manner that closely resembled a temper tantrum.
"You good, man?" Sato asked, approaching cautiously. Katsuki gave him a tight-lipped smile. "That's a no."
"I didn't say anything," he protested.
"You didn't yell. That's what we in the Bakugou-interpretation business call a 'red-flag'," Sato chuckled as Koda nodded sagely beside him.
Katsuki snorted a disbelieving laugh. "Get outta here unless you wanna help cook," he replied dismissively.
Five minutes later, Kyoka slipped into the kitchen and posted up on the counter. "Airpods," he greeted her warily.
"Blasty," she replied softly. Katsuki groaned. "You heard the whole thing."
"Y'all were yelling. Couldn't have missed it. Shoji probably heard, too," She replied. "He was way out of line."
He shrugged. "So was I, bringing his old man into it."
"Maybe," she agreed. "But that doesn't mean you weren't wrong. And he made it fair game when he accused you of hurting him. You were right, Izuku's earned the right to decide how far he wants to go on his own, and no one has the right to tell him who should be helping him recover or what his limits are."
Katsuki nodded absently, stirring his stir fry. "Have they been treating him like he's fragile?" he asked softly. Kyoka hesitated.
"Not really sure," she admitted. "I've been avoiding them." Katsuki shot her a look, and she gave a sheepish grin. "Want me to find out?"
He pondered that. "Nah. He can take care of himself. If it bothers them, he'll find a way to let them know."
"He's the most polite little cinnamon roll I've ever met," Kyoka replied, dubious. Katsuki snorted derisively. "Not when you piss him off."
Katsuki was honestly surprised that it had taken Izuku so long to officially notice. Or maybe he'd noticed, but had taken his time bringing it up. Either way, he was both unsurprised and unprepared when Izuku asked, "hey Kacchan? Are people avoiding Tenya, Ochako, and Shoto?"
Luckily they were eating, so Katsuki could take his time chewing his food while he considered his answer. "They might be," he finally replied. "Why do you ask?"
"When I was doing PT with Mina and Eijirou, Mina was complaining about how she was struggling with English. I asked if she wanted to join my study session, and she was super on board. Then I mentioned that it was weird that I was getting tutored by Shoto when Denki was top of the class in English, and she backtracked. Then, I wanted to talk to Momo about some ideas I had for her costume that would leave her less exposed and she seemed really excited about it until I invited her to lunch to talk about it," he replied. "I asked Tsu if she wanted to come to movie night, and she said she was busy, but only after she asked who would be there. Then I was gonna hang out with Denki and Hanta and play video games, but when I asked if I could invite Shoto they said I should hang out with him, and we'd play another time. I'd think they were avoiding me but they seem fine until I mention one of my friends, you know?"
Katsuki pursed his lips. "Things are a little...strained," he admitted. "When everyone found out that you were not only in the hospital but in a coma and dying, it freaked everyone the fuck out. There was a lot of tension and people said things they didn't mean. Now we're all just trying to go back to normal. It's a work in progress. Don't think you should worry about it, though," Katsuki explained, discreetly avoiding Izuku's eyes by inspecting his sandwich for the most structurally sound bite. "Things'll go back to normal eventually." He took a bite. He knew he wasn't really living up to the promise of communication he'd made, but things were starting to calm down, just like he'd planned. Yeah, the class wasn't farting sunshine and rainbows anymore, but they were functionally fine in their new relationship lines, the Dekusquad's vitriol for Katsuki excluded.
Izuku hesitated, studying Katsuki's face. "You sure?"
"F'coursh m'fuckin sure, nerd," Katsuki replied irately with his mouth full. Izuku wrinkled his nose. Katuki swallowed his bite before continuing. "It fucking sucked when you were in the hospital. Your dork squad was really fuckin' worried, but Auntie wasn't in any state to have visitors every day. They were frustrated, and then other people in the class got frustrated, and it got heated. It'll work out, though, because we've got you back and you're basically the universal switchboard for
the fuckin' power of friendship or whatever, so relax. Let things settle on their own, nerd."
Izuku felt skeptical, squinting at Katsuki like he was looking for something, but Katsuki seemed so sure. "Okay, Kacchan," he replied. But he couldn't quite get rid of that nagging feeling in the back of his head that told him he was missing something big.